www.sciencedaily.com
The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system. The exoplanet HD 189733 b, roughly the mass of Jupiter, orbits a star 63 light-years away in extremely close company. Although the planet can't be seen directly, scientists used Hubble data to analyze its atmospheric composition and turn up CO2 as well as carbon monoxide (CO). They did this by comparing the light spectrum from the star with that from the star and planet combined, as the planet passes in front of its star. The very fact that we're able to detect it and estimate its abundance is significant for the long-term effort of characterizing planets both to find out what they are made of and if they could be a possible host for life. Other chemical signatures familiar to Earthlings have already been turned up by astronomical observations, including on HD 189733 b.
From this discovery it is possible that another planet might be able to host human beings due to the presence or carbon dioxide and monoxide in the atmosphere. Scientists will continue to test the atmosphere for other characterizations that could conclude another planet to be livable by humans.
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Life on Other Planets?

Is there extraterrestrial life on other planets? Scientists and Astronomers are currently testing for life on other planets far away. They have recently found evidence of carbon dioxide on a planet 63 light-years away. No life has been found on this planet, not only that it has not been found but it is impossible for life to grow there. The levels of CO2 is too great to sustain any life. The estimated temperature on this planet is roughly about 1700 degrees Fahrenheit. They will continue to look for more life on other planets.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/science/space/11planet.html?_r=1&ref=science

-Dan

The Nature of Glass Remains Anything but Clear

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/science/29glass.html?pagewanted=print

For centuries, people have believed that a slow-moving liquid goes down glass for hundreds of years. It has been discovered that the windows were uneven to begin with. The atoms and molecules in the glass are different from that of the liquid so it is puzzling how the two can be as hard as the other. One of the biggest mysteries is the theory of the nature of glass and the glass transition. After decades of research, scientists were able to discover that as molten glass cools, the molecules do not slow down uniformly. To this date, we still don't know how glass is made and what its relation to the liquid is.

This article is reflecting the Earth's history. It is always nice to hear about the research that has to do with things that have been around for centuries. In a decade or so, it is a possibility that there will be more information concerning this matter.

The article was written nicely. There could have been more details but the information that was given was nicely said. I was able to understand the point of the article and what it was trying to achieve. 

Early earth different than we knew it

 Geologists now agree that Crystals in rocks that were found in Australia prove that the earth was not a desolate inhabitable place 4.5 billion years ago during the Hadean period. These crystals found embedded in rocks know as zircons are billions of years old and they offer signs that the Earth’s plate had begun shifting during the Hadean period. The minerals show that the plates were already forming continents and oceans 4.5 billion years ago. Zircons are composed of the elements Zirconium, oxygen, and silicon. They are really hard and durable and can survive harsh conditions that erode, melt, and destroy the rocks around them. The relative amounts of oxygen isotopes show that there was water. Zircons have high levels of oxygen-18 which in minerals in clays and carbonates that form in water prefer as well. The most common oxygen isotope is oxygen-16. Scientists believe the Earth at this time was a pretty placid place with both land and oceans. The temperatures on earth were cold enough to create large areas of lands covered by ice. The sun was much younger then and emitted 30 percent less energy then it does today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/science/02eart.html?ref=science

Silicon for better batteries

Researchers in South Korea have discovered that silicon based anode could greatly increase the storage capacity of lithium ion batteries. This would increase run times of cell phones and laptops by 7 times. New studies are taking place using silicon which forms lithium alloys and can hold a far longer charge then graphite.which has a relatively low storage capacity. However, silicon begins to crumble after a few cycles of recharging and can no longer hold ions effectively. Jaephil Cho at Hanyang University in South Korea believes that they have solved this problem by making porous silicon that is able to accomodate the expansion and contractions of silicon. Cho's team was able to demonstrate that the porous silicon stores an electrical charge of more than 2800 milliampere hours per gram which is about seven times higher than graphite. The team is already collaborating with battery manufactuers and said that they will not take any longer to recharge then the previous battery. The highly porous structure can be filled up quickly allowing for rapid charging. This technology may eventually be used for more advanced applications such as hybrid cars.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2008/November/25110801.asp